ODST: Surviving the drop
by Xwhitewolf14
Summary: The UEG and Swords of Sanghelios are strong, but not as strong as days past. 10 years after the war, hostilities still haven't simmered down between Sangheili and Humanity. They probably never will. But despite this, a dangerous threat looms on the horizon. A threat that necessitates cooperation, or all will be lost to a dark foe. And the UNSC knows just the guy for the job.
1. Prologue

_**Hello everyone!**_ _ **This in now the official rewrite/rework/redo of my old story, ODST. After starting that story over three years ago, I wanted to re-write it now that my writing skills are much better in comparison. I also lost interest in where I was originally gonna go with that story as well, so this will provide me a chance to refocus my efforts on the plot overall. As well as to be able to possibly wrap in season 7 of clone wars when it comes out in 2019.**_

 _ **When it comes to the timeline in the Halo universe, halo 5 and every book after it never happened in this version. And in the Star Wars universe, it's only a half a year before Revenge of the sith/Clone wars season 7 takes place.**_

 _ **So enjoy!**_

* * *

The room was silent.

Multiple videos played at once on the large screen that covered the wall in front of them. Videos of carnage, of death, destruction between fleets, and on the surface of planets in the unexplored but obviously populated regions of space outside the Orion Arm. The battles… no, the war that was taking place between these two factions was something that was... concerning. All it would take is one lucky slipspace jump and the war would be on our front doorstep.

And it's only been ten years since the end of our own war.

"What is this?" Thel 'Vadam, or otherwise known as the Arbiter asked in a low tone, apprehensive of what he just watched.

"These are our cosmic neighbors on the other side of the Galaxy. Neighbors who are currently fighting in a galaxy wide civil war that threatens to engulf us all" Lord Terrence Hood said warningly, the seriousness and almost imposing nature of his voice not fitting well with his wrinkling and weakening body in his old age.

The Arbiter examined the videos with a keen eye, the arrowhead and oval-shaped ships destroying each other with a strange type of weapon system that seemed to shoot out red or blue lasers instead of plasma. He narrowed his eyes and turned to Lord Hood, still wary of the man he fought against for the better part of 10 years during the war, the blood between them high. Thoughts of this being a human deception momentarily passing through his mind.

"When did you find out about them?" the Arbiter questioned.

"One year ago. We were originally gonna keep this to ourselves, but now… " he said slowly from his chair behind a desk.

The Arbiter growled "Now?!" he demanded, tired of how secretive humans are sometimes.

"We realized pretty quickly that if either of these two factions decided to move against the UEG. They would steamroll right over us with the technology they possess, along with the fact that they outnumber us 10 to 1. We wouldn't last a week, let alone win without your support." Terrance admitted.

He was almost surprised by the human's plea for assistance, but when it comes to humans he's seen over the years, rarely anything does these days. It also reminded him of the bind humanity was in the past, the Covenants war to exterminate the humans taking 27 years and ultimately failing in the end. So even if a conflict is what's destined, I doubt these factions will fare any better.

"You plan to fight them?" Arbiter asked, wondering what his strategy was against these foes.

"No. Even with you at our side and our initial advantage of being in what they call ' _the unknown region_ ', our estimates show that our combined ship totals and manpower would be decimated by them." Hood said grimly.

The Arbiter huffed in disbelief "My people are more resilient than you're 'estimates' believe them to be Terrance," a little annoyed that he would question the resilience of his brothers, or his own kind for that fact.

"I bet they are, but we're not taking these newcomers lightly" he looked at his desk for a brief second "and to put it frankly, the UEG isn't ready for another war," Hood said firmly, not wavering from his words

"So if you're not planning to fight them, Terrance, then what are you planning to do?" he questioned.

"We have a plan that will neutralize a few undesirables that would present problems in the pursuit of peace with the Republic and Confederation of Independent Systems," Hood said as he stood up from his chair behind his desk.

A plan? Thel looked back to the screens, the videos of destruction, of men in white armor and what seemed to be brown colored robots blowing each other apart. His eyes drifted to the corner of the screen. A dark hooded figure standing there. This whole situation was far too… sudden to just jump into, something he will not just randomly throw his resources at now that Sanghelios has finally been restored and the Covenants lies finally purged from his homeworld.

Thel turned to the screen as video of what appeared to be a large planet with red lines running throughout its surface caught his eye, more importantly, however, was the thousands of ships surrounding it. His eyes widened in surprise at the sheer number of ships that sat in the planets orbit and beyond, thousands of them just waiting for a chance to defend the planet.

"This is only a portion of the Republics fleet, and it's only growing by the day," Terrance said as he slowly walked up to Thel, stopping at his side.

The video overtook the entire screen, and the increase in detail was almost frightening.

"And this CIS?" Thel asked with some concern, not even bothering to count that many ships.

"Just as powerful, maybe even more so in some areas,"

Thel let out an uncomfortable hum of acknowledgment, crossing his arms as he thought over the many strategic and military variables that this planet and its defenses presented. He would need his old Covenant fleet to even attempt an attack on this world, let alone any other planets that are aligned with this Republic.

However, that's not what concerned him. There are still a few small remnants of the Covenant and other Sangheili opposition forces still actively fighting against him, and it's taking up most of his attention as he grows closer to snuffing them out for good. Another war would also require an absence from Sanghelios, an absence that many of his enemies would take advantage of.

Things that can not be allowed to happen in these fragile times, not when they're so close to stability.

No... war is not an option, not until we are secure at home.

He glanced down at Terrace with a watchful eye "You will tell me everything before you risk war." he said firmly.

"That is why you're here" Terrance said with a nod, his eyes remaining on the video.

Thel looked back at the video in front of them, his brow raising in disbelief as a small fleet of ten or more arrowhead ships slowly moved into frame much closer to whatever camera recorded this.

"Then let us begin."

* * *

 _ **Well, there you go, the first chapter of Odst: Surviving the drop! It's not much in comparison to what I have in store for you, but a good start is all I desired. I'll probably tweak the chapters in this story now that you can save your files for a year, but otherwise, I hope you stick around.**_

 _ **Leave a review and I hope you have a good day!**_


	2. Assassination

_**Hello everyone! The next chapter awaits!**_

 _ **When it comes to the timeline in the Halo universe, the main storyline of halo 5 and everything after doesn't take place, the characters and ships will still exist however. And in the Star Wars universe, it's only a half a year before Revenge of the sith/Clone wars season 7 takes place as of this chapter.**_

 _ **But other than that, I hope you enjoy!**_

* * *

The air on Coruscant was chilly today. Cold almost. Despite the warm and durable clothing we were wearing, it seemed to slowly seep into everything. Like it was trying to carve its way down to the bone like all those years ago. Sighing as a shiver went down my back, I clutched my weapon ever more slightly. The wind blowing in from the partially destroyed wall to my right, our only window that has a direct shot to target, and I couldn't help but shiver as I looked over the city as the clouds cast the city in white light.

"It gets to you too huh?" my friend asked, an old friend from days long past.

My eyes snapped to him from across the room, his form sitting on the ground against the wall. He was the person that I trusted more than anyone else, even if he did go and betray the marines by becoming a Spartan. He didn't have his armor on, and I wasn't wearing my ODST armor ether. Leaving us in a way, exposed to one another as we both couldn't hide behind the visors and armor pieces. It was a rare, but not an unwelcome experience.

"More than I'd like to admit Buck," I admitted, not bothering to hide my sullen look from my friend.

Buck has seen his better days as well, his brown hair was starting to turn grey at the edges, and small wrinkles were starting to form. His brown eyes, hardened by years of war. Enough war to fill any man his age ten-fold and some more, something I hope never happens to me.

"Yeah. I remember the cold days… the waiting was the worst part." he said solemnly, his eyes shifting to the floor in front of him.

Another shiver went down my spine and I quickly looked back out over the city, the thousands of ships flying about, the hundreds of tall buildings in all directions, and no matter how different it was, no matter how civilized it all looked. I was still sitting in a cave, waiting to take out my target. A target that was so evil, so unstoppable, that they needed to be stopped before anyone else was hurt by them.

My eyes drifted to the target area and I shook my head, looking away as memories of the war flashed through my head. Gripping the barrel of my sniper rifle as that horrible conflict made its way back into my mind. All of this was too similar, too personal. I still remember their names, their faces, all of them. And now I'm back in the fight, as though the war never ended.

" _Oh my god... they killed them all."_ I clenched my eyes shut as the memory of those words echoed in my head.

A picture of dead and mutilated friends, squadmates, and children following in its wake. Something I'll never forget.

"Does it ever get better?" I asked in a whisper, my voice cracking somewhat.

Buck didn't respond at first, preferring to stay silent. I looked up at him, his own eyes plastered on the ground, his body deflated.

"The cold? No. It never will." he said quietly, the cold sinking deeper into my skin.

He looked back up at me, a strong look slowly returning his eyes "If it ever got better… I would be worried that my own humanity is finally broken beyond repair. And I can't lose that. Not after making it out alive… " he said honestly, his voice dipping into sadness at the end

I looked at him with confusion "But how do you live with it? How do you keep fighting when our battle is already over?" I asked, almost begging for an answer.

"Over?" he said with slight surprise, squinting his eyes in disbelief.

"The battle is never ' _over'_." his eyes hardened, his form inflating again as a determined look took hold "I'm a soldier. And I'm ready to lay down my life so that others don't have to. So humanity keeps on living. So that scumbags like Palpatine can't roll over us like a wet blanket after we made it out of hell," he said fiercely.

My eyes widened in surprise and I opened my mouth to say something, but no words came to mind

"I'd be damned if I let Earth, hell, even Sanghelios get destroyed by some fucking interloping, power hungry, piece of shit psychopath!" Buck leaned forward, his hands clenched into a fist on the ground beside him "We fought too damn hard to keep on breathing, and I'll blow away any son of a bitch who thinks they can take that away" Buck stated sharply, a fury in his eye that couldn't be rivaled by anyone.

I looked into his eyes, unable to say anything back due to the conviction in his words. An aura of strength surrounded him, making my original question sound stupid and almost childishly ignorant. Looking away from him, I shook my head, surprised to see my own weakness laid bare. My own lack of will. It scared me too the bone and I swear I could feel my hands shaking slightly; when suddenly, a timer went off.

I jumped slightly at the sound, almost forgetting what we were here to do in the first place. Bucky straightened up and reached for a pair of binoculars on a pack to his right, standing up and walked up to the opening in the wall with them in his hand.

I watched as he raised the binoculars up, about to look through them, when he stopped. He looking back at me with a raised brow "You with me Rookie?" he asked, using my old nickname.

I opened my mouth to say something, but I just nodded with a smile back. The strength in my friend filling up my chest with determination that I haven't felt in years since the war ended. I tightly clenched my fists and stopped my shaking hands, determined to get the job done. I pulled up my sniper rifle up to my lap and primed the rifle, the strange click of the NT-242 echoing through the small room.

"Let's make sure Humanity keeps on breathing," I said to myself, trying to emulate the conviction and strength that were in Bucks words just moments before.

"That's the spirit!" Buck said with a encouraging smile.

I quickly pulled myself up and walked towards to opening in the wall, careful to place the barrel of the gun in a grove that lined right up with where the target should be in about five minutes, 2.4 kilometers away. Taking a breath, I calmed myself, bringing my focus back to the mission at hand.

We watched and waited silently as 10 aircraft flew overhead, four official but identical black multi-person transports, surrounded by two gunships on each side and two Jedi fighters. One in the front and the other in the back.

"You set up the failsafe right?" I asked as I lined up my scope, making sure the rifle was properly calibrated for the distance of the shot.

"What do you take me for, a Rookie?" Buck said playful back.

I couldn't help but chuckle.

Chancellor Palpatine, or Lord Sidious as known in the Separatist world, was making his speech today at the steps of the Jedi Temple in response to an 'unknown threat', not that he knew it was us. The Swords of Sanghelios and the UNSC have been careful to slowly and meticulously take out his high-level cronies in places of power throughout the Republic and Separatist alliance, we've even killed an up and coming Senator before he could even apply for the senatorial elections. All of them meet their demise because of 'accidents', but even so, through his contacts in the media and the military, he has framed this as a national security situation and has his other remaining and important cronies protected by clone garrisons throughout the galaxy. We have, however, set back his plans by years, as several important people that are crucial during a transition from a free Republic to an oppressive Empire, are no longer in place.

I took a few calming breaths as the convoy of ships made their final approach, descending in altitude and disappearing behind buildings before appearing again.

"I wonder what the Jedi would do if they knew there was a Sith at their front door." Buck wondered aloud.

The convoy began there final descent "Given he would be outnumbered, probably stepped on" I said with a plainly.

"That would be one painful step," he mumbled back.

I only nodded, tracking a diverging black transport making its way towards the temple steps. Two dropships and one of the Jedi fighters following after it.

"That must be him," Buck said as all the diverging ships landed at the top of the steps

"Most likely," I said in agreement as the bays of the two dropships opened up, almost two dozen shock troopers piling out.

A crowd of protestors and supporters were gathering at the base of the stairs, a Jedi, Jedi temple guards, and regular clone troopers keeping them back. There were more security measures when it came to crowd control, but we couldn't see them from our vantage point. The red shock troopers quickly surrounded the black ship, prepared for any threat that may arise as a few of them had rocket launchers on there back. The Jedi in the yellow fighter got out next, the future pawn of Palpatine if I remember the briefing correctly.

"Why is Skywalker always with him? I would think being the most powerful Jedi in history would grant him the ability to sense Palpatine?" Buck asked aloud.

"Beats me," I said with a shrug, the canopy of the black ship opening up to reveal the Chancellor of the Republic.

The chancellor stepped out of his black transport, the friendly and supportive grandpa facade suiting him well in his old age. He was talking to Skywalker, but he was soon gonna walk to the podium.

"Winds from the northeast" Buck stated.

I glanced over at him with a raised brow "You know winds don't affect blaster rifles right?" I asked.

"Oh right. Force of habit" Buck muttered to himself.

I looked back through my scope as the Chancellor finished his talk with the Jedi, shaking his hand as he… I narrowed my eyes. Did he just hand him something? I moved the scope to see the Jedi hand, but he already slipped whatever was handed to him into his pocket.

"I'll make note of it" Buck stated, apparently noticing the little handoff as well.

I moved my scope back to Palpatine as he turned around and approached the podium that overlooked the crowd at the bottom of the Jedi temple steps, the Jedi statues on either side of him making him seem a little more official than usual. He raised his hands, dawning a smile as cheers and boos rose from the crowd. It was almost funny, if he was where he wanted to be, the boo's would be silenced with death.

"Whenever you're ready Rookie" Buck whispered.

I took one last calming breath and placed my hand on the trigger. He was beginning to speak to the crowd and a few small cameras were floating off to the side. The clones were on every side while the Jedi stood behind and to the right of the Chancellor.

And just as the security information taken from the Jedi Temple, there was no force field, leaving him wide open. I aimed the reticle at the Chancellors head, and with one last calming breath, I pulled the trigger.

The blaster bolt shot out and it should connect in 3… 2… 1… BINGO!

The blaster bolt blew cleanly through the chancellor's chest, a gaping hole left where his lungs should be. The blaster bolt killing a clone behind him as well.

"Woohee, that's gotta hurt" Buck said with a whistle.

I didn't respond, watching as the red clones surrounded his body, beginning to pull him away as medics ran forward and one of the dropships landed off to the side. That's not what caught my attention, however, I moved my scope to the Jedi, Skywalker, a shiver going down my spine as his eyes seemed to connect with mine. Like he knew we were here.

His eyes seemed to peer into my soul with a burning hatred "Hey Buck, does it look like Skywalker is looking at us?" I asked as I looked over at Buck.

"huh,Uh… yeah." he said with a little surprise "Let's get moving, now!" he ordered.

He quickly got up and moving towards the door with his pack as I took one last look through my scope, and it seemed the Jedi was running to his fighter.

"Shit!" I muttered.

If our position was somehow discovered, I was to leave the sniper here along with a basic communicator used by the clones. The communicator and the sniper were both smuggled off a Republic cruiser a while ago that's still in service. It is meant to direct any investigation away from us and towards those in their own ranks. And with the serial numbers still on both of the smuggled items, it'll be a good reason for the Jedi to be extra wary for a time, in case the Chancellor somehow survives and jumps to… conclusions.

"Come on let's go!" Buck yelled from behind me.

I dropped the sniper to the ground right as Skywalker jumped into his Jedi fighter. Quickly running back towards the door and picking up my pack on the left side and slinging it around my back. We both looked back out the hole in the wall as we heard the whir of the Jedi fighter engine's getting closer, a yellow dot getting closer.

"Run!" Buck yelled.

We both booked it out of the room and closed the door behind us, quickly running down to the end of the hall and turning left into another room that had a good sized garbage chute. It leads all the way down to the 4th level beneath the surface, the perfect escape. I closed the door to the room as Buck pulled the cover off the top of the garbage chute

"Let's hope the landing is soft," Buck said with apprehension as he looked down the chute.

"Just get in!" I yelled as I turned to him, the sound of the fighter engine somehow even closer.

Bucky groaned slightly, before lifting himself up and going down feet first. The sound of him sliding down the chute reached my ears before he soon disappeared down the chute.

I picked up the cover for the chute, quickly lifting myself up over the opening.

"Soft would be preferable," I said hopefully.

I dropped into the chute with my hands up. The cover snugly fitting onto the opening as I slide down the garbage chute after Bucky. Leaving the pursing Jedi behind.

* * *

 _ **Well, I hope you enjoyed this little beginning of mine, and even if you didn't, it's a much better then my first attempt. Though I will admit, I feel that my writing is... off, strained in places, I don't know for sure but I hope it's not too bad for ya. So leave a review if you liked it, loved it, hated it, or if you just think it needs a little improvement here and there.**_

 _ **But other than that, to all the Star Wars fans reading this, I hope you all have a good day!**_


	3. Aftermath

_The news of the Chancellor's assassination started to spread throughout the core worlds in minutes, and hours for the rest of the galaxy. Such a momentous act couldn't be ignored, and even as the Chancellor was transported to the leading medical facility on Coruscant with no word if he survived. The leaders and systems of the CIS were cheering and taking this unexpected victory. Whether it was the CIS or just a simple bounty hunter, no one knows. But as of now, everything has changed._

 _And it's chaos._

* * *

"Are the Jedi here yet?!" yelled one out of the dozen doctors in the room.

They all stood around an square apparatus around the size of a stool situated above a bed. They were all moving quickly as the slow beep echoed above all of the noise, the only thing that gave them some hope. The machine above the bed was hooked up to his chest, acting as his heart and other vital organs in that area, but it was just a holding action. The blaster bolt that blasted through his chest and heart damaged too much internal tissue for any kind of long lasting and successful repair, and since cybernetics would require the removal of the device and hours of surgery, that was also out of the question. So all the doctors could do was keep him alive for as long as they could, and wait for the Jedi, Senate, and Military officials to arrive.

The person on the table was breathing frantically, letting out groans of pain, and was showing great strength for his age as the medical personnel around him diligently worked on him. The only clothing the body was a his pants, his upper body shirtless and revealing the frame of an older man. Wires of all kinds were hooked up to him, a respiratory mask lay over his mouth, and white lights revealed everywhere so everyone could see. The apparatus above him had wires and mesh hanging out of the bottom, all connect to a once gapping hole in the older mans chest.

This person was Sheave Palpatine, leader of the Galactic Republic, and he was hanging on by a thread.

The doors burst open not a second later, Jedi Grand Master Yoda, Grand Admiral Wilhuff Tarkin, Senator Bail Organa and Padme Amidala, all walked in. The last three with a few support staff each. The room was massive so there was still plenty of room for them to be standing on the perimeter of the circle of doctors, the red shock troopers at the edges of the room watching all.

"How is the chancellor fairing?" Tarkin asked loudly to the group of doctors, his eyes watching the body on the bed closely.

A neimoidian next to the Chancellor dressed in white medical clothing with a mask over his mouth quickly turned to them, and raised his arm, gesturing for them to wait. The doctor turned back around and leaned down next to the ear of the Chancellor and said something to him before he made his way to the small group, a little blood on his gloves and shirt obvious to the whole group.

"How is he?" Senator Organa asked the doctor.

"The Chancellor doesn't have much time left, he has asked to speak with Grand Master Yoda and Tarkin immediately," the doctor stated as he mentioned to the bed.

"But what of his condition?" Tarkin pressed calmly.

"His heart is almost completely gone due to the blaster bolt, and his lungs have shut down. Quickly, there is not much time." the doctor said quickly before turning around, the other doctors clearing a path for them.

"Then speak with the chancellor, we will," Yoda said grimly as he started walking forward almost as fast as a regular person.

Tarkin mentioned for one of his aids who quickly gave him a datapad and he followed after the two, and the both of them stopped at the edge of the table, Master Yoda silently jumping onto an empty push cart next to the bed. They quickly noticed that the Chancellor's skin was mostly pale, his chest was barely moving as the apparatus hooked up to his chest did its best to keep everything running for as long as possible. He let out a painful groan, and turned his head towards the two, his eyes barely open.

"He can hear you fine," the doctor piped in.

"Chancellor Palpatine, do you concede your position as Chancellor of the Republic to Mass Ameda, Vice Chancellor of the Republic?" Tarkin asked with his datapad in hand, getting official senate business out of the way first.

It took a moment for him to respond "... Y-yes" he said weakly, the machine making his voice sound mechanical.

"Alright," Tarkin stated as he quickly typed into the datapad.

Next was the question that Senate

"Chancellor, we warned you that something like this could have occured, and despite our own investigations, you decided to go on with your speech, confident that you were safe. So before you pass, we would like to ask if you have any information regarding the individual or organization that shot you today? Any information that would lead to their capture?"

Tarkin asked this because he, the Senate, and the Jedi all knew that his administration set up their own investigation into the credible threat against his administration officials and the Chancellors life, separate from the Republic investigations for security concerns. Despite this separation, it was for this sole reason that he was allowed to move Senators, delegates, staff members, and other Republic officials around and away from danger and under clone protection without the Senate or Jedi raising a big fuss. It didn't save all of those he moved, but it was clear that he had a lead that the rest of the Republic intelligence community did not.

After the first few successful moves and failed attempts by unknown gunmen, the Chancellor still refused to share his intelligence citing security concerns and potential spies. The Senate and Jedi's objected to this, but given the lack of progress in other investigations, they allowed it. But now they need to know, so Tarkin, the Jedi, and the Senate all hoped he would share what he knows before he passed.

Otherwise his offices will be raided.

His eyes closed for a few seconds and he seemed to take a deep breath. His weak old framing seemingly about to collapse from such a simple action.

"I… I do not know who… but I do know who it's not," he struggle to say, the machine letting out a few beeps above him.

"Who is it not?" Yoda asked.

It took him a few seconds "Not… the CIS… someone else… someone new," palpatine wheezed

"Someone new?" Yoda pressed, his eyes not moving from the closed eyes of Palpatine.

Palpatine opened his eyes "A new group... in... in the unknown regions. I gave the… gave the information to Anakin," he said, a harsh cough spewing from his lips immediately after.

The two hid it well, but both Tarkin and Yoda were surprised by this little revelation.

The heart monitor started beeping quicker than before, but not anything to worry about, but whatever remaining color that he had in his skin seemed to fade away to grey. The doctors started moving even more around them, several of the pulling out medical scanning devices.

He coughed again before looking to Tarkin "I ask that… that General Skywalker head the investigation into my assassin…" after another harsh cough and a painful wheeze, he reached out with his hand "as my final request."

Tarkin didn't hesitate "Yes Chancellor Palpatine."

Palpatine looked to Yoda, a hopeful look in his eye. Yoda hesitated for a second, but ultimately nodded, his respect for the man still standing despite his and Jedi's suspicions of him. Palpatine smiled softly and slowly looked above him towards the machine, his soft smile still there as he stared into the light above him. When suddenly, the heart monitor went flat. The Chancellor's head fell back into the pillow and his last breath slowly left his old frame. The doctors started yelling at each other as the room went crazy as doctors flocked to the bed.

His hand falling to his side as he went still.

"The machine should have kept him alive for another 15 minutes at least!?" the doctor said with vivid confusion as he stared down at his datapad with wide eyes.

"Time to leave, it is," Yoda said as he jumped down from the little cart, the doctors filling it with medical supplies a second later.

"Indeed it is," Tarkin said as he looked at the deceased body of the chancellor one last time.

The entire party were quickly escorted out of the room as the doctors prepared the chancellor's body for surgery to try and revive him, a somber and foreboding mood filling the atmosphere around them. The Chancellor was dead and due to that single blaster bolt, the Republic was left in a crisis unlike anything since the start of the Clone Wars. No Chancellor in the history of the Republic has ever been assassinated and this situation is even more strenuous due to the amount of emergency powers that Chancellor Palpatine possessed as well as sectors of the economy he oversaw such as banking. The markets already started to freefall before it was suspended, and what of the CIS?

They slowly made their way out of the facility on the roof, only to come out onto the landing platform with a view of the chaos that Coruscant was currently in, the same as it was when they first arrived at the Republic Medical facility.

Fire raged in buildings for as far as the eye could see which were most likely caused by seedy elements of the lower levels, speeders and ships were frantically flying around out of the usual lanes and off planet, and the dull roar of a million screaming voices reverberated through the air. All as the sun began to set. Tarkin quickly looked down at his datapad to see reports of riots in a thousand places at once, the entire situation seeming as though order in society had completely broken down.

"Senators, I'd advise that you prepare the Senate for Chancellor Mas Amedda's arrival, for until that time, Coruscant will be under a temporary state of martial law," Tarkin stated firmly, his eyes cast on the raging fires before them.

"Martial law-" Senator Amidala started pointedly, disapproval in Bail Organ's eyes as well.

"Do you not see the chaos before you with your own eyes Senator? The Chancellor has been killed, and now Coruscant burns," Tarkin said sharply with a simple gesture to the skyline.

She looked out over the chaos, conflict, anger, and grief all welling up on her face as she looked at the burning buildings.

"Order will be restored Senators, and until it has, I implore you to convene the Senate for Mas Amedda's arrival." Tarkin ordered sternly leaving no room for disagreement.

"Yes... Grand Admiral," she said quietly as she looked down.

"Dark times these are, Senator, but for the best, this course of action is," Yoda said grimly, his eyes also focused on the raging fires.

"Master Yoda, I intend to fulfill the last request of Chancellor Palpatine, do you have any objections?" Tarkin asked as he looked down at Yoda, a duo of gunships made their approach.

"If Skywalker is to head the investigation, involved, the Jedi will be," Yoda stated firmly, looking up a Tarkin unwaveringly.

Tarkin seemed annoyed by his request, given his general dislike for the Jedi involvement in military affairs, but even he couldn't toss aside the skill and prowess that the Jedi offered, at least not realistically.

"Then contact General Skywalker, we are heading for Republic High Command."

"FInd this assassin, we will."

 ** __Captain Rex__**

The bay of the gunship was quiet, my brothers, the investigators, and the Jedi all stood silently as we looked out over the city. Our dropship, accompanied by a dozen others flew us through the air towards the area we're going to be searching beyond the target building. We all stood their firmly, watching as a Venator apart of General Skywalkers fleet patrolled the local airspace above the target building ahead, the rest of the 501st already beginning to clear out the target building the sniper was in from top to bottom.

For the first time today, the clouds finally dispersed, basking the city in the orange glow of the sunset, and making the fires almost look nice. The yellow skyline usually filled with thousands of transports and speeders now empty and barren, fires raging off in ever direction as the populace suddenly decided that the death of the Chancellor meant lawlessness.

Our comms lit up "Target not found, I repeat, target not found" General Skywalker said, his voice sounding especially on edge, angry almost.

I sighed and looked back towards the Jedi Temple, clenching my fist in anger as the scene replayed in my head.

We all knew what just happened, it was only 35 minutes ago. Half of us saw it with our own eyes as the Supreme Chancellor was cowardly shot down. Another life in the pile of dead men. A life that leaves us vulnerable and open for a separatist attack, a life that represented so much.

However, we aren't just going to roll over, not now nor in another thousand years. And now? Now we're on the hunt.

"Captain Rex lets go over the plan," General Kenobi stated.

I looked back to the general, his demeanor calm despite the situation "Yes General."

"Opening comms with the other ships now sir," the pilot quickly added.

He pulled out a holodisk and projected a large map of Coruscant in front of us, a good thirty square kilometer area that we were most likely going to be searching for the next week or two for even the smallest clue.

"The rest of the 501st has the target building and immediate area covered, but we fear that the assassin may have made it out of the 8 kilometer perimeter." he crossed his arms and cupped his chin with his hand "So we'll be heading another 10 kilometers north, 20 levels down, and working our way back to see if we can catch this assassin," he explained.

I raised a brow under the helmet, he could go in any direction so… "Just north sir?" I asked.

"Northward presents the clearest path towards nearest spaceport in a 160-kilometer radius. They're most likely heading in that direction if there aim is to get off Coruscant at some point," Kenobi explained.

"Isn't that impossible? The Navy has ordered all ships and transports to remain docked." I asked with a raised brow.

"Despite the order, there are already reports of hundreds of ships trying to leave this sector alone, it'll be some time before we can clamp down on that problem, if at all," Kenobi said with a frown, the worry in his voice clear.

"The navy will do its job, sir… but what about east and west?" I asked with slight confusion, pointing at the two directions on the holo map.

"All of Coruscant planetary security forces are thoroughly searching those areas down to the 126th level. We will be searching along the most direct route, so whoever this assassin is, it will be hard for them to avoid all those who are looking for him." Kenobi said with confidence.

I thought of the plan once again and ultimately nodded my head in agreement as the memory of the blaster bolt plowing through the Chancellor passed through my mind. Determination welling up in my gut, in all of our guts.

"Let's hope we catch this slemo," I said with a scowl, one of Skywalker's insults working perfectly.

"Yes… now prepare your men Rex," General Kenobi ordered.

 _ **_UEG space six hours later_**_

Lord Hood watched with a smile as news reports from across the galaxy started streaming in. 'Martial law' _'Palpatine Shot' 'Will the Chancellor Survive' 'The Republic Leaderless?' 'The war must continue!'_ were just a few of them. He checked his watch around his wrist. 23:21 it read. He smiled and looked back up at the holo projections in front of him, it only took 6 hours for transmissions to reach the Infinity on the edges of UNSC space, a startling prospect all things considered, but good when it comes to information.

"Did they confirm the kill?" he asked out loud, even though the room full of chairs was empty.

"We don't know sir, we haven't established communications with Sgt Buck or the Rookie as of yet" Roman answered back swiftly, the ships new replacement AI fresh from the techs on Earth.

He narrowed his eyes, his smile gone "What's the probability of them making it off planet?"

"Now that we know they're response, at best, they have a 23% chance of making it out safely." the AI respond quickly, a hologram of Coruscant with delayed tracking data appearing before him.

"That's even less than predicted," he stated with concern, watching as thousands of dots and small triangles moved off and around the planet.

"And when it comes to getting off Coruscant undetected, they only have about an 8% chance," Roman said grimly.

He shook his head, sighing at the depressing familiarity of it all, silently wishing them luck.

"Keep an eye out for their communications. What's the reaction of our Separatist friends?" he asked quickly, the holo-projections quickly switching from fear mongering and terror, to celebration and renewed drive.

Headlines like _'Tyrant shot!' 'War won?' 'The Republic is no more!' 'We will crush the leaderless Republic!'_ were just a few of them.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary given the two sides were at war. A video popped up next, the newest message from the stream of data, with Dooku standing before CIS Senate. He raised a brow in curiosity, and with the wave of his hand, a still frame of Dooku in the chambers of the Separatist Senate, his face showing a hint of… relief? Or was it irritation?

He raised his hands in front of him, the cheering of the senate members quieting _"To the people of the Confederacy, Today is a great day, a glorious day. The heart of the Republic, Chancellor Palpatine, has been struck down!"_ he said with vigor.

The Senate cheered and clapped their hands for a minute or two, their happiness with the situation obvious, and he waited patiently.

 _"The Republic is now weakened! Their resolve crushed!"_ They cheered again, _"But I must admit to you now, that it was not us who stuck this tremendous blow," he stated carefully with the slow shake of his head._

Lord Hood watched the recording carefully as the cheering slowed to a stop and talk started to circle the senate chamber, several confused and demanding faces stared up a Dooku for an explanation.

 _"From what our intelligence has gathered, an assassin from an unknown organization in the Unknown Regions has committed this mighty blow against the Republic, giving us the advantage unlike any before!"_ several Senators, seemingly accepting this new information and cheered as many others feverously read their holo-pads.

"Do you think he's referring to us Roman?" Hood asked, knowing it to be true but not being able to help himself.

"It seems so sir. Speculation regarding us is circulation throughout CIS communications of both military and civilian channels." Roman explained.

"Is any of it a problem?" he asked, hoping that Palpatine and Dooku weren't able to pin together too much before this.

"From what our dumb AI have been able to gather so far, there's only one point of interest, and that is that the 'unknown organization' is located somewhere in the Unknown Regions," Roman said, several widely known publications with that very bit of information popping up before Lord Hood.

He sighed in slight relief as he read over the titles, glad that was all Palpatine was able to gather from his wealth of sources. But even with a whole galaxy knowing our general location, we were at the edge of what they called wilde space, at the opposite side of the outer-rim, meaning it would take years before they could map an effective route to our territory.

"Resume the recording," he ordered.

The publications unknowingly regarding us started popping up besides the video _"To the organization who carried out this glorious act, the Confederacy of Independent Systems welcomes you with open arms, and will provide you with all the resources you may require as we intensify our offensive against the corrupt and weakening Republic!"_ he said with a final roar of passion as he raised his arms up above him, the rest of the council chamber cheering louder than before.

The recording continued on for several minutes as he covered a few economic issues and up and coming celebrations, before it finally came to an end, the smiling face of Count Dooku staring back at Hood in the end. He observed his face with a searching gaze, thinking over Count Dooku's words, analyzing his words for anything out of the ordinary. Slowly, a thought rose to the forefront of Hoods mind.

 _'an assassin from an unknown organization in the Unknown Regions_ '

Hood's eyes widened slightly before he shook his head with a scowl, those words repeating over in his mind.

"The cunning bastard!"

"What is it Sir?" Roman asked.

"Contact the Arbiter, the situation has changed," Hood ordered sharply.

"Yes Sir."

* * *

 _Well. That took a while._

 _I wrote around four or five versions of this chapter which I will ultimately edit and use in some form later on in this story, but I just couldn't decide on where to go next with this for the longest time, which may explain the staleness of it as well. The chase, the Sangheili, the informant, or a riot of some kind. So many places and things to write about. Be angry, it's your right, but just let me know how the chapter went. I haven't forgot about this rewrite of mine yet, so don't worry, and I will do my best to cut back on my indecisiveness._

 _Otherwise, I hope you have a good day!_


End file.
